Sears tries its hand at an appliance-focused store format
There are few tricks Sears Holdings hasn't pulled in its efforts to get itself back to profitability. Now, the retailer has something new up its sleeve with the rollout of a small-format appliance-focused test store in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Sears Appliances is a new store format that focuses on one of the things Sears does best. The 10,000-sq.-ft. store will feature leading Integrated Retail services, offer top 10 appliance brands and interactive kitchen design displays.
The new store officially opens May 19 with a wide assortment featuring the top 10 brands of refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, dryers, ranges, wall ovens and vacuums.
Additionally, customers will have a shot at visualizing how their new appliances will appear in a full-scale kitchen using the "Kitchen Creator," a 122-inch interactive digital display. Using a tablet, shoppers can select common kitchen layouts and appliances and add custom colors and finishes.
"We're using digital innovation and this new store space in a different way which will enable us to deliver a superior shopping experience to our members," said Leena Munjal, senior VP, customer experience and Integrated Retail, Sears Holdings. "The store in Ft. Collins is a great example of how we are focusing on our best categories, stores and members and how the right blend of a physical store with Sears' digital capabilities can deliver a fresh, innovative and convenient way for our members to shop."
The store will also feature many leading Sears retail services, such as Meet with An Expert, Free In-Store Shipping, Buy Online and Ship to the Store, In-Vehicle Pickup, and Anyone, Anywhere Pickup.
"Sears is the only retailer that provides all 10 top appliances brands, including Kenmore, along with the nation's largest fleet of expert technicians who make home ownership simpler," said James Coyle, president of Home Appliances, Sears Holdings. "Buying a new appliance is a big decision for anyone. This new Sears Appliances store offers members the ability to design their dream kitchen with the support of expert associates who will help guide them to a solution best-suited to their needs."
According to details outlined at the company's annual shareholders' meeting on May 11, the pilot store will be followed by a handful of other test store openings this year, though Munjal told Reuters that other small-format locations may focus on different categories.
According to Bloomberg, Lampert compared his efforts to get Sears back to profitability to Obama's struggle to close Guantanamo Bay.
It’s “not so easy,” he said. “Our focus right now is to show people that we can get this company back to profitability.”
However, Lampert said it was his intention to return to profit this year by closing stores "more aggressively."